[Sinner666]

Booked a Figo from Myles for a long weekend drive to Pondicherry later this month.

Does anybody have an idea what Figo does Myles Chennai operate? Is it the new 1.5L one, or the old one itself? And in general, what condition are the cars in?
The pick & drop points I've asked for is the Airport.

[Deeps]

Originally Posted by Sinner666

Booked a Figo from Myles for a long weekend drive to Pondicherry later this month.

Does anybody have an idea what Figo does Myles Chennai operate? Is it the new 1.5L one, or the old one itself? And in general, what condition are the cars in?
The pick & drop points I've asked for is the Airport.

Perfect timing. I am looking to do the same booking later in july. I am going to bug you later about your experience.

One question, does the zoomcar/myles vehicle need to pay entry tax for Pondi? I couldn't find the details on the site whereas the amount to be paid is listed for other states. Secondly, can this be paid online or necessarily at the border post?

[Sinner666]

Originally Posted by Deeps

Perfect timing. I am looking to do the same booking later in july. I am going to bug you later about your experience.

One question, does the zoomcar/myles vehicle need to pay entry tax for Pondi? I couldn't find the details on the site whereas the amount to be paid is listed for other states. Secondly, can this be paid online or necessarily at the border post?

And here I was thinking I would get some info!

I read somewhere that the taxes are not too much, some 200-300 odd bucks. Anyways, will update my experience here the week after next.
Most welcome to any questions.

[Rajesh Rawal]

Not sure if this has been covered before

Has anyone used Myles in Goa? (Like a pick up/drop of the car in Goa Itself )

The app has only one place of pick up in margoa ,wondering if they can do airport/hotel drop/pick up

There are quite a few automatic options which is a plus


Spoke to customer service at myles ,the charge is inr 1600 for airport pick up and drop (to be paid in cash/card swipe to the delivery executive)

[AnniHilat0R]

Quick question as I am unable to get any info on this after searching.

Does Myles / Zoomcar allow their car to be taken in Bhutan ?

[TejasKinger]

Originally Posted by Sinner666

Booked a Figo from Myles for a long weekend drive to Pondicherry later this month.

Does anybody have an idea what Figo does Myles Chennai operate? Is it the new 1.5L one, or the old one itself? And in general, what condition are the cars in?
The pick & drop points I've asked for is the Airport.

I live close to a Myles yard near CBI Colony, Chennai. I've noticed only the old Ford Figo parked in their yard. Externally, usual battle-scars aside they don't look too bad. At least, better than the Zoomcar ones. Can't comment on their mechanical fitness as I've never driven them.

[Sinner666]

Originally Posted by TejasKinger

I live close to a Myles yard near CBI Colony, Chennai. I've noticed only the old Ford Figo parked in their yard. Externally, usual battle-scars aside they don't look too bad. At least, better than the Zoomcar ones. Can't comment on their mechanical fitness as I've never driven them.

Not good news then, given that the new Figo was launched sometime in the second half of 2015. Given these are the cheapest to book in the Myles portfolio, I am assuming these 2 yr old cars might've easily run a couple of lakh kms, and would've seen quite some abuse.

Fingers crossed that I get a well driven & less abused car this weekend.

Thanks for the info anyways. Will update current status in a day or two for everyone's benefit (hopefully not as a grievance post).

[Deeps]

In case you haven't booked then you may want to consider Revv as well. A friend in Hyd gave very positive feedback on their service and cars.

[AnniHilat0R]

Trying to call their customer support but unable to get through. Does anyone whether Myles allows an add-on driver. Me and my friend are planning a roadtrip. Zoomcar is allowing me to add a co-driver, just wanted to check if Myles too allows that.

[AkMar]

Originally Posted by AnniHilat0R

Trying to call their customer support but unable to get through. Does anyone whether Myles allows an add-on driver. Me and my friend are planning a roadtrip. Zoomcar is allowing me to add a co-driver, just wanted to check if Myles too allows that.

Myles terms and conditions do not say anything about co driver. So there should be no issues having a co driver as long as the co driver has a valid license.

[Romins]

JustRide has a cap for damage/accidents.

"You will be required to provide us with all the details of the incident for insurance purposes as your damages are limited to a maximum of Rs. 9999."

VolerCars has something similar:

"Damage fee applies when the user is involved in an accident which involves collision/misuse of the vehicle. The user will be obligated to pay the repair cost upto INR 5000 or the standard insurance deductible amount. The payment will be adjusted from the security deposit paid by the user. In the event we find that user has violated Voler Terms & Conditions of renting a car, the maximum cap of INR 5000 will not be applicable. Please refer to our User Responsibility page for further information. "

[Sinner666]

Originally Posted by Deeps

Perfect timing. I am looking to do the same booking later in july. I am going to bug you later about your experience.

One question, does the zoomcar/myles vehicle need to pay entry tax for Pondi? I couldn't find the details on the site whereas the amount to be paid is listed for other states. Secondly, can this be paid online or necessarily at the border post?

Not good news man. Not a good experience with Myles. Book something else if you haven't already.
The state entry tax is to be paid at a small toll collection point as soon as you enter Pondy (its a very nondescript place, and you will easily miss it.). Look for a canopy (sort of a smaller version of India Gate type looking structure) welcoming you to PY to know you are some 5-10 yards ahead of the toll collection booth. There is nothing written anywhere and no checking/mandatory stopping either. I guessed on seeing some self drive and taxis stopped there - could see a lot of other self drive guys just zip past not noticing it. The fee is some Rs.150 for 7 days.

Originally Posted by TejasKinger

I live close to a Myles yard near CBI Colony, Chennai. I've noticed only the old Ford Figo parked in their yard. Externally, usual battle-scars aside they don't look too bad. At least, better than the Zoomcar ones. Can't comment on their mechanical fitness as I've never driven them.

Originally Posted by Sinner666

Not good news then, given that the new Figo was launched sometime in the second half of 2015. Given these are the cheapest to book in the Myles portfolio, I am assuming these 2 yr old cars might've easily run a couple of lakh kms, and would've seen quite some abuse.

Fingers crossed that I get a well driven & less abused car this weekend.

Thanks for the info anyways. Will update current status in a day or two for everyone's benefit (hopefully not as a grievance post).

Got an 88k kms run old gen Figo. It looked spotless at first, but closer examination revealed a complete paint job had been done (could see paint peeling off from some areas).
Had opted for the pickup point as the airport, and the guy was prompt and waiting there before time. Although its another thing that he could barely communicate in any language apart from Tamil. He seemed to be filling in for someone, and was generally clueless.
Finished the paperwork, fed the location in the GPS and started driving. Almost immediately I started hearing noises from the front axle. The delivery guy had vanished by then, and I had to call their local office number he had given me. They assured me it is nothing, but moisture/rain water and it will go off after running few kms. The noise did not go away by the way.

Anyways had a nice drive on the ECR (its a nice drive btw. I had imagined it to be a bit more curvy, but nonetheless good and offered superbd views throughout). We wanted to stop on the way to take in the views, but we had already scheduled a visit to Auroville at 2:30PM. So, thought we will stop on the many wayside beaches on the way back.
Did Auroville (please take a guide if you go there, otherwise its just some buildings in a jungle. We happened to have an excellent guide named Vinay, who happens to be an Aurovillian - in fact his father was just 17 when he moved to Auroville. He knew the in& outs of the place, and gave us a very realistic lowdown of the place, including the not so good things too. You can reach him at 9751944989 if you want. But pls book ahead as he's usually busy most days. Disclaimer: I am not related in any way to him. Just found him to be a very helpful & nice chap, who would make your experience better).
Roamed around the beach and the promenade at night, and tanked up cheaper diesel in Pondy before calling it a day. That was the end of my 'reasonably good experience' with Myles!

Next day we planned to hit the town for souvenir shopping. Got ready by 12, cranked the car but it wouldn't start - suspected battery trouble.
Called up the helpline, and they said RSA will reach me within an hour.
RSA calls in sometime, and is there in approx. an hour on a bike. I tell him the issue - he's carrying a spare battery and immediately jump starts the car.
He then tells me I have to idle/run the car for 50 mins for the battery to charge. If the problem comes up again, they'll know the battery is dead and will take the next course of action. I protest that I can't waste an hour of my precious 2.5 day vacation charging their car battery - this after already waiting for him for an hour to reach. The drive to the town is also just 2 kms, and wouldn't entail a 50 min drive.
I also refuse to accept the car back in the same condition, as I didn't want to be stranded on the streets.
I call up the RSA and inform them this, and they say this is standard procedure. I tried explaining that the car had run well the last day (~150kms), and if it discharges overnight without any electrical leakage, its most likely that the battery is dead, and they should replace it. Which is when I get to know that I have to replace the battery at my own cost, and they would refund me later.
This is also when I come to know that apparently what I thought was the RSA is just a freelance mechanic on a bike, who will attend to only small patchwork repairs, and isn't affiliated with any garage/workshop. Nor do the RSA/Myles have any local center/office there.

Another enlightenment comes that the entire RSA setup is a third party organisation (right from the call center which is what you reach when you call Myles, to the mechanic), and have very little coordination with the actual Myles Customer Care team.
After a lot of persuasion by the Myles CC team, I take the car back, given I had no other option.
Drove into town where wife was already shopping (I had asked her to go ahead while I sort the mess out), head out to a cafe to grab something to eat, come out, crank it again, and its dead again!

I call up the mechanic (to his credit, he was helpful to the extent he could be), give him directions to where I am stranded. Call up the RSA team again, and explained the issue. Call up the Myles CC team and give them a piece of my mind. He says I had 3 options:

• Get the battery replaced myself from any shop - not acceptable to me. I had already wasted close to half a day by now on this, and didn't want to waste anymore time getting somebody else's car repaired. I would've understood if this was some remote location where things are difficult, but not in a big city like Pondy. Moreover, even if I had agreed, the mechanic mentioned that being a Sunday, no shops would be open and even Monday being Eid was doubtful.
• Surrender the car, and continue the rest of my trip on my own. Refunds etc. will be subject to conditions!

I chose the latter, as I didn't want to waste anymore of my time on this. Pressed for a refund, and asked them to tow the car away.
I was offered a taxi for 50kms - agreed to it.
The mechanic is here by now, and he has managed to jump start the car (again), and informs me that the tow truck guys are different people, and they would contact me separately.
I precariously drive the car back to the hotel under constant fear of stalling & not being able to start it again, as we didn't want to stand on the streets waiting for the tow truck. Changed the tow location to the hotel. This happened around 5:30PM.

We reach the hotel somehow, and wait for the tow truck. Get a call around 8PM from the cab guy asking me where he should come, and he would take 45 mins to reach. I manage to keep it together, and tell him the cab is not required.
Tow truck guy finally reaches at 9PM, and he insists on taking me along to the Ford service center. I refuse to be pulled in again, as its not my headache anymore, but was also a bit apprehensive given the tow truck guys were also a 3rd party, and the car was technically still on hire by me, and any damages/misuse could be pointed/charged back to me. Call up the CC, and inform them this, and they say they would not be able to send anyone from Myles there. I reluctantly take photos & videos of the car & its condition, and hand it over to the towing guys.

Next day, I receive a call from the Ford SA asking me what the problem was with the car. I tell him the problem, and he asks who will pay, whose car etc. I tell him its MYLES, and he has to talk to them. He is clueless about the whole situation, I explain the entire story to him, give him MYLES contact details and ask him to get in touch with them, since its their car.

The funny thing is Monday evening, I was about to reach the airport, and I get a call from MYLES Chennai asking me that I should return the car on time, else there will be penalty! By this time I have lost all patience & hope with MYLES, and just tell him to call the CC. There is absolutely no coordination among the different departments and service providers, and ultimately the customer suffers.

Ultimately

• I flew in from Gurgaon Saturday afternoon, and was flying back Monday evening. The only complete full day I had was ruined.
• I had to hire expensive autos to move around in town, and had to pay around 3k for the taxi back to Chennai

Will I ever book Myles again: No!

[Deeps]

Originally Posted by Sinner666

Not good news man. Not a good experience with Myles. Book something else if you haven't already.
The state entry tax is to be paid at a small toll collection point as soon as you enter Pondy (its a very nondescript place, and you will easily miss it.). Look for a canopy (sort of a smaller version of India Gate type looking structure) welcoming you to PY to know you are some 5-10 yards ahead of the toll collection booth. There is nothing written anywhere and no checking/mandatory stopping either. I guessed on seeing some self drive and taxis stopped there - could see a lot of other self drive guys just zip past not noticing it. The fee is some Rs.150 for 7 days.

Will I ever book Myles again: No!

Wow! Thats one crappy ordeal! Good thing i've chose an i10 with Revv instead. Will update here on how that experience goes. Thanks for the tip on the state entry tax and the guide.

[Yieldway17]

Originally Posted by Sinner666

Ultimately

• I flew in from Gurgaon Saturday afternoon, and was flying back Monday evening. The only complete full day I had was ruined.
• I had to hire expensive autos to move around in town, and had to pay around 3k for the taxi back to Chennai

Will I ever book Myles again: No!

That's really a terrible experience. I thought Myles was supposed to be better than Zoomcar?

On the other hand, I feel little sorry for Zoomcar, Myles et al. as well as the renters except for very few seem to be accountable to the cars they rent. These companies are being the early leaders and setting up support structures which practically doesn't exist in India. In my view, they are taking a hit and paving a way for better experience in future.

[knaveen]

Got an XUV with a cracked windshield!. The service and maintenance has surely gone bad compared to the previous experiences. https://twitter.com/NaveenKumaresan/...02664536809472